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Skerries Coastal Rowing Club

Skerries Rowing Club is an amateur sports and social coastal rowing club, situated in the picturesque harbour of Skerries, ‘winner of The Tidy Towns Award 2016’. We have approx 70 members in our club, women and men, of all ages and from all walks of life. Our rowing season begins in March and ends in September, when we shelter our boats for the winter for some well needed TLC and maintenance.

Coastal rowing is undertaken by crews of four with one sweep oar each, and a coxswain, in wooden clinker-built boats. Clinker skiff-type boats were once one of the most numerous type of working boats found along the eastern seaboard of Ireland.

Skerries Rowing Club competes in regattas all along the East Coast, every Sunday from June to July. Each club, affiliated with the ECRC take turns to host their own regatta, giving us the opportunity to visit many beautiful towns during the summer season. Skerries have their own regatta (please see calendar for dates) and it’s greatly supported by many of the wonderful businesses of Skerries Town.

Skiff racing has its origins in the occupation of hobbling. Hobblers were freelance pilots, and competition was strong to be the first to board the approaching ships. Not only did the successful hobblers receive payment to pilot the ships into port but they were also awarded the contract for discharging/loading those ships whilst in port.

The skiffs worked mainly between Lambay Island just north of Dublin Bay and Wicklow Head, where they required considerable skill on behalf of the oarsmen. The long tradition of rowing is now carried on through the rowing clubs affiliated to East Coast Rowing Council. These clubs can be found around the old Dublin pilot stations of Ringsend and East Wall in Dublin Port, Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey, Bray, Greystones, Wicklow, Arklow and Skerries. Skerries are the only coastal rowing club on the North side of the Liffey.